Latest / Sri Aurobindo Studies / Characteristic Relations of the Physical, Vital and Mental Beings to Life, Oneself and Others, Work and Facing Difficulties

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Characteristic Relations of the Physical, Vital and Mental Beings to Life, Oneself and Others, Work and Facing Difficulties · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  Understanding the operation of the three gunas or qualities of
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  nature, is an important part of understanding yogic psychology.
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  The Bhagwad Gita devotes considerable effort to
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  describing the gunas and their functionality.
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  For most people, however, translating things like
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  reactions, responses, attitudes, etcetera into the language of
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  the gunas is a difficult task. This is particularly the case
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  for Westerners who have no background or grounding in the
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  yogic psychology and its terminology.
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  Dr. Dalal has found a way to describe the action of the gunas
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  as a type of attitude of response.
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  He is essentially assigning the predominant quality of each guna
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  to a specific aspect of the being.
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  Thus the physical being is characterized primarily by
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  Thomas, the vital being by rajas, and the mental being by
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  Sattva in their purest and ideal forms.
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  Of course, there is an intermixture at each level, so
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  no one represents any guna solely, nor is any element of
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  the complete Being free from the action and qualifying attitude
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  of the other gunas. Dr. Dalal observes quote the
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  differences among the parts of the outer being are illustrated
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  in relation to attitude towards life, oneself and others, work
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  and difficulties with respect to attitudes of the outer being
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  towards life. The physical being exhibits
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  aimlessness with life governed by habit and routine.
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  The vital being fixates on pursuit of wealth, sex and
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  power. Life governed by desire.
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  The mental beings attitude is governed by pursuit of
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  knowledge. Life governed by moral and
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  mental principles with respect to oneself and others.
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  The physical being focuses on identification with the body.
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  The vital being identifies with impulses and emotions.
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  The mental being focuses on identification with the mind.
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  With respect to work, the physical being sees it as a
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  chore, drudgery. The vital being looks upon work
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  as a means of earning, exercising power and exhibiting
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  one's skills and abilities. The mental being is concerned
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  with performance of duty, rendering a service, means of
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  self-expression and self improvement.
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  Regarding difficulties, the physical being tends to respond
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  with indifference, passive resignation, avoidance, or
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  escapism. The vital being responds with
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  struggle, anxiety and tension, irritability, and aggression.
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  The mental being acts by focusing on dispassionate
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  problem solving. Since all human beings have
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  physical, vital, and mental components in the makeup of
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  their personality, the attitudes pertaining to these parts of the
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  being exist in everybody. The attitudes vary in different
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  persons in the degree of their predominance, depending on the
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  extent to which each of the three parts of the being is
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  dominant in a person. End Quote Reference Sri
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  Aurobindo and the Mother, looking from within.
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  Introduction by Doctor Delal. Pages Roman, 8:00 to 9:00.